Oh hey…
Fancy seeing you here — the place you might wonder why it hasn’t been updated in exactly two months. I’ve practically given up on apologizing about that seeing as the fact is: sometimes life gets crazy when you have a full-time job and try to be a full-time blogger. We’ve been over this.
I’ve also been ever-so-frustratingly trying to figure out how to make my blog less centered around materialistic subject matter. Why yes, I do love shopping and the premise of this site is Red Panda Style — no, I hath not forsaken you. Henceforth, I will focusing more on what my six-figure college education taught me and that was how to write and write real good. (See? It’s like I have this innate ability to make everything I write sound sophisticated.) Prepare thyself for more posts about simple, healthy, yet scrumptious meals and…get ready…more photos!!! This may not sound all that thrilling to you, but I had an iPhone 4 with a damaged camera for about the past year, and recently got hold of the 5. Holy tapdancing Christ, I am a lean mean Instagramming machine (shameless plug, my Instagram name is @redpandastyle).
So, recap anyone? Here we go.
October
The first day of October was a slightly delusional one for me. You see, I’m scared of flying. I literally hadn’t flown since 2006 until this very day. I was going on a business trip with a fellow coworker (thank goodness for her, because without her presence I would probably be in a straight jacket right now). So, after some good doctor-prescribed medication, a couple of latkas and a very short plane ride, we arrived in Washington D.C. Don’t get too excited, we were only in Washington D.C. for about half an hour, as we hopped into a cab which took us to our home for the week: a hotel in Fairfax, VA, with no rental car and really no entertainment surrounding us. Essentially, our days were spent in training whilst our nights were spent in our adjoining hotel rooms sipping on Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale watching chick flicks, save for one particularly exquisite evening where we were driven to H&M in a local mall (we don’t have one here).
After this, I went to the wedding of a very good friend, experienced several waves of Tennessee’s extreme lack of understanding of what fall really is, ate many a pumpkin-flavored thing, enjoyed a couple soy salted caramel mochas, and just generally soaked in the changing of the seasons.
The end of the month was nonstop. In one four-day period, my boyfriend and I attended the wonderful birthday dinner of a dear friend at an incredible Nashville restaurant I had been meaning to try: The Mad Platter. We took in five courses that evening — bacon and egg salad, shrimp and sausage gumbo, flatbread with gorgonzola/arugula/baked apple, salmon with walnuts and strawberry cous cous, and bananas foster. Can anyone say food coma for days?
Then, we ventured to Asheville, NC for Moogfest. I was ecstatic to go to this town, not only because of the prime musical entertainment but because Asheville is one of the most beautiful places to visit when the leaves are changing. To our surprise, it was 70 degrees throughout our (very short) visit. Andrew played a memorably packed performance on Friday night, and after that we jumped right in the car and drove back to Nashville in the wee hours of the morning, slept a few hours and jumped back in the car to head off to Evansville, IN to see two good friends get married. It was a fabulous event overall.
This all taking us to…
November
Nothing all that exciting has happened this month. I was interviewed for a special article about local Nashville spots in New York Magazine, which was a great experience. Thanks again to Sean Maloney for thinking of me when writing that article!
Thanksgiving was, of course, filled with two of my favorite things: mashed potatoes + more carbs. I still feel the pangs of food hangover even today as we took loads of leftovers home with us from both Thanksgiving spectaculars we attended. On Friday morning, I got to go to another local Nashville restaurant that I’m so ashamed I’ve never been to: Loveless Cafe. Overall, it was delicious but I didn’t really think it stood out among its cult classic Cracker Barrell. I will say, though, that I definitely brought home some peach preserves because they were out of this world.
On Friday afternoon, I went to a few places in honor of Black Friday. Y’all, I went candle crazy. I’ve never felt the realism of my own age quite like this before, or maybe it was that I just felt all too womanly. “Oh my gosh girl, did you smell the Cinnamon & Clove Bud? I think it would be great in my kitchen! Will you hand me two of the Winter Whites? Oh no wait, could you grab me a Marshmellow Delight, too?” Really? Did I say these things? We don’t have to go there. Sad thing is, I’m keeping all of these candles for myself. If you’re a big fan of Bath & Body Works’ candles, then I’d highly recommend Merry Mistletoe and White Barn No. 2.
As November comes to a close, I am enjoying relaxation next to my first Christmas tree outside of my mom’s house, putting together my newest Red Panda event this Saturday, December 1st, NARS Rouge Tribal lipgloss, obsessively hoarding candles, roasting eggplant after eggplant after eggplant, entertaining friends, redecorating, and treating myself to shellac manicures (which we’ll be talking about tomorrow).
Hope you and yours enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and brace yourselves…it’s Christmas time!
